High Performance 2012 Ford Focus ST

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by HaveBlue83

i agree with moose, once again. we arent bashing, we want this to live up to our vision of the focus. we will speak out if it doesnt. mustang owners have done it in the past. so will we.

if the SVT was only a 5-door i would have bought a regular ZX3. FWIW my rear seats have been out of my red SVTF since 2006. i dont do more than one passenger.

Ok so on the last part, you would have bought the 3 door but soon complained about the lack of power...

[MacAttack]

I'm just thinking it'll look better with fewer doors, I don't need all those doors, and it'll be a bit lighter without them.

I'd take a 4 door sedan, and maybe a 5 door HB. But man would I be pissed if they came out with a coupe ST in 2013. (Although I'd be glad that Ford finally made the model I want).

Edit: Searching for 2012 Focus Coupe ST, I found this little rendering:

Imagine the design they released, but with this door/window design.

[Peregrine]

If they did that, a trade-in or buy back incentive would be nice instead of raking in money from "hopefull" sales.

I'll be pissed if that happens. I'd hate to wait until 2013 or 2014 to say I told you so...

[azdamay]

Originally Posted by mmmoose

Just a slight correction here...

Nobody is saying that the new Focus ST is a complete POS. They're so critical about it because they LOVE the old Focus and want to see it become better. We tend to be more emotional about the things we love, especially when the thing we love is getting messed with. So let's not get confused with that versus mindless bashing.

Most of us want the new performance-based Focus to be an affordable AND fast car like the original SVT and ST (US version) were. But at the same time we also knew that Ford would be stepping it up a few notches by offering more luxury features with the return of the European design. So it'll be a bittersweet transition for some of us who were used to the older concepts.

Honestly the only saving grace FoMoCo of America has right now is the fact that the Fiesta is now available in the US, which essentially takes the place of the old Focus. It's going to take a while to adjust, but I think that's what it all boils down to. Most people on here are really waiting for the Fiesta ST. The 2012 Focus is simply a whole new beast (in the US market) altogether.

Well spoken.

[CheeseEater88]

Originally Posted by mmmoose

Just a slight correction here...

Nobody is saying that the new Focus ST is a complete POS. They're so critical about it because they LOVE the old Focus and want to see it become better. We tend to be more emotional about the things we love, especially when the thing we love is getting messed with. So let's not get confused with that versus mindless bashing.

Most of us want the new performance-based Focus to be an affordable AND fast car like the original SVT and ST (US version) were. But at the same time we also knew that Ford would be stepping it up a few notches by offering more luxury features with the return of the European design. So it'll be a bittersweet transition for some of us who were used to the older concepts.

Honestly the only saving grace FoMoCo of America has right now is the fact that the Fiesta is now available in the US, which essentially takes the place of the old Focus. It's going to take a while to adjust, but I think that's what it all boils down to. Most people on here are really waiting for the Fiesta ST. The 2012 Focus is simply a whole new beast (in the US market) altogether.

I also want to point out that the new 2012 Focus is somewhat larger than the outgoing NA models... IIRC... and the Fiesta is not much shorter than the current focus.

Fiesta Sedan is less than 2 inches shorter than the current MY foci...just saying... its .7 inches shorter in height.... and about and inch narrower...


The Fiesta IS the new Focus for all intensive purposes. Its engine output is reminicent of the old Zetecs... well in some ways... 120hp, 112ftlbs of torque... (it weighs less to make up for the pony deficet)


so everyone who fears the fiesta because of:
small size,
Low mass,
under powered,
Not enough driver room...

need not fear... its about the same as your focus that you currently drive.

also I can't get over some other replies to some other "news" sources out there on the web. People say "I'm tall... 5'4"... I can't fit " or something like that and I about reach for my suicide knife.

I'm about the shortest in my family, neglecting my youngest brother because of the age difference. I am over 6 foot. I fit fine in almost any car.

Its all in your head

weight is another separate issue... some people need full size cars...

now those over 6'5.. like my younger brother, they have to push the seat back on every car they drive... just not to hit their knees on the dash. which will rule out the seat behind the driver in some cars...

there is not a large difference between any compact car and a subcompact car, (except for some import/exotics).

people need to get over this phobia... its irrational...

[DrkKnight614]

Posted via FF Mobile Id say the Fiesta is the new small car from ford...not te new Focus. The new focus IS the new focus. Im sorry but just about every car gets slightly larger with every major refresh. Should we go change the name to a whole slew of cars? Vw polo is a golf, bmw 1 series is a 3 and the 3 is a 5? Honda fit is a civic, the civic is an accord? I understand what you are saying and I agree, but your really going to confuse a lot of people and make them hate and complain about the focus. Also I think people are alittle confused on the size differences. If you want toget technical, neither the fiesta or the focus are like the focus we knew...what a surprise. The fiesta is shorter and has a shorter wheel base and less trunk and rear leg room, weight is the same, but nothing else is. The 2012 focus is 3 inches longer has an 1.3 inch linger wheelbase, which is not a bad thing, but the car has half an inch lower roof line then the previous generation. Not really that much bigger then the focus you can go out and buy now and its still a compact car. Oh and the seats are lower for a sportier feel and no longer have that "command seating" height.

Sum up...the 2012 focus is not fusion size and most people are not going to notice a size difference between it and the current one. People hear bigger and EVERYONES LOSING THEIR MINDS!!!

[MacAttack]

Actually, something just occurred to me. If I get this... what will I do with my beloved 2000 Focus SE?

[red2009se]

"The Fiesta IS the new Focus for all intensive purposes..."

Well, the Fiesta is the 'new Escort' to me, B class. Focus is tracking the rest of the compact C class, in moving upmarket. I'd also say eventually mid sized cars will be merged with large into 'D' class as in Europe, with only the high line big cars as 'E'.

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by DrkKnight614

Posted via FF Mobile Id say the Fiesta is the new small car from ford...not te new Focus. The new focus IS the new focus. Im sorry but just about every car gets slightly larger with every major refresh. Should we go change the name to a whole slew of cars? Vw polo is a golf, bmw 1 series is a 3 and the 3 is a 5? Honda fit is a civic, the civic is an accord? I understand what you are saying and I agree, but your really going to confuse a lot of people and make them hate and complain about the focus. Also I think people are alittle confused on the size differences. If you want toget technical, neither the fiesta or the focus are like the focus we knew...what a surprise. The fiesta is shorter and has a shorter wheel base and less trunk and rear leg room, weight is the same, but nothing else is. The 2012 focus is 3 inches longer has an 1.3 inch linger wheelbase, which is not a bad thing, but the car has half an inch lower roof line then the previous generation. Not really that much bigger then the focus you can go out and buy now and its still a compact car. Oh and the seats are lower for a sportier feel and no longer have that "command seating" height.

Sum up...the 2012 focus is not fusion size and most people are not going to notice a size difference between it and the current one. People hear bigger and EVERYONES LOSING THEIR MINDS!!!

Agree with all of this here. Just to see things for myself, I drove over to a local Ford dealer and parked my car next to a 5 door Fiesta. The wheel base and overall length were pretty damn close, front to back and the ground up.

In comparison to this current gen Focus,(sedans) it's pretty much the same size with differences in overall interior space.

The five door's hatch area is definitely smaller but probably almost as large as the '02-'04s with the rear seats folded flat.

The 2012 Focus is going to wedge in nicely between the Fusion and Fiesta.

[Tbones00SE]

Originally Posted by DrkKnight614

Posted via FF Mobile Id say the Fiesta is the new small car from ford...not te new Focus. The new focus IS the new focus. Im sorry but just about every car gets slightly larger with every major refresh. Should we go change the name to a whole slew of cars? Vw polo is a golf, bmw 1 series is a 3 and the 3 is a 5? Honda fit is a civic, the civic is an accord? I understand what you are saying and I agree, but your really going to confuse a lot of people and make them hate and complain about the focus. Also I think people are alittle confused on the size differences. If you want toget technical, neither the fiesta or the focus are like the focus we knew...what a surprise. The fiesta is shorter and has a shorter wheel base and less trunk and rear leg room, weight is the same, but nothing else is. The 2012 focus is 3 inches longer has an 1.3 inch linger wheelbase, which is not a bad thing, but the car has half an inch lower roof line then the previous generation. Not really that much bigger then the focus you can go out and buy now and its still a compact car. Oh and the seats are lower for a sportier feel and no longer have that "command seating" height.

Sum up...the 2012 focus is not fusion size and most people are not going to notice a size difference between it and the current one. People hear bigger and EVERYONES LOSING THEIR MINDS!!!

The Fiesta is the new Focus argument is much more than about wheelbase sizes. We all know that cars mature throughout model changes, they're supposed to since the next model is supposed to be better than the next. The key though is that each new model should capture the essence of the previous model. That is what long running models like the Mustang do. I think that has been the major complaint of the refreshes we've gotten here is that there is no connectivity between the models. While the innards are basically the same, you don't see an '00-'07 in an '08-'11 and you don't see an '08-'11 in an '12. They're all great cars for what they are, but every new Focus we've gotten is basically a new car called a Focus and not a continuation of the previous model, IMO.

From the posts I've read, it just really seems as though the Fiesta seems to have that essence of what drew people to the Focus in the first place. Entry level car with funky european exterior and interior styling, has just enough power to get out of its own way, but has great handling that makes it a blast to drive.

The '12 Focus a much more serious and mature car. There is no funky looking exterior or dash and it's filled to the brim with technology. In other words it's a great car for those of us who are ready to buy a more serious and mature car. Not everyone has matured to that level. Some people want to just have a new version on the '00-'04 car and all I'm saying is that the Fiesta seems to have that essence.

I could be dead wrong, but that's just my opinion on the subject.